Sanctuary
by Nicole-Cherre
Summary: Inuyasha and Kagome spend the night in the one place they never thought they could be harmed- unfortunately even holy men can do wrong when trying to help others.


Sanctuary  
  
The sun was setting across the flat, cultivated plains of feudal Japan splashing everything in a deep, vibrant yellow and rich glowing red. The shallow stream Inuyasha and Kagome rowed down gleamed and glinted like a river of molten gold. The girl sat at the back of the small skiff in silence, glad to finally be alone but the utter, absolute quiet was driving her nuts! All she could do was sit back and watch as Inuyasha poled them further down the slow-moving stream.  
  
But she watched him carefully. Every movement he made she was aware of. When he unconsciously lifted his nose higher in the air she knew what he was trying to smell for. When he agitatedly cracked his knuckles, digging his claws into the nicked worn wood of the oar, she knew what he was thinking of.  
  
The sun was setting but the moon had failed to rise.  
  
A small hill rose to the right of the stream, doused in warm yellow light, and sprawling across it, glittering like gold, was a huge temple. Stone steps led up to a dozen stone and red-painted wood buildings, terracotta tiled roofs topped them off. Statues and shrines fit into nooks and hollows between the structures and gardens. This place *had* to be as large as the shrine her family lived on in the future. It would be perfect for tonight. There could be no safer place!  
  
"Look, Inuyasha, there's a temple. Let's stay there for the night, I *really* need a hot bath after the last couple days." She knew he wouldn't admit it but this night he would hate to be out in the open when he had so many enemies who'd kill to know his secret. He'd gotten too use to Sango and Miroku being around- he took their defensive skills for granted- but now that it was just him and Kagome . . .  
  
She knew he thought she was more trouble than she was worth sometimes, it was a good thing she *almost* had the hang of her bow and she could sense the Shikon shards. Otherwise, he might have just left her with Sango and Miroku at the last village and gone off by himself. Then he wouldn't have to worry about protecting her if they were attacked tonight. He should have just waited but he was too impatient to collect any shard she might happen to mention and the exorcism Miroku was performing would take a while.  
  
So she came with him.  
  
It was lucky this temple happened to come into view just as this night began. Inuyasha wouldn't have to worry about being protected from youkai if they were in the middle of a temple. And she wasn't lying about the hot bath. She smelled like the algae and clay of the river not to mention the hot sun beating down on her the last two days made her sweat and had burned her skin. Her sun block had run out just this morning and her arms and knees looked a little red. And nice warm bath and some lotion for her skin would be awesome . . .  
  
Inuyasha snorted and didn't bother looking at her as he answered. "Keh. Fine. You stink like this rotten river anyway."  
  
Kagome's mouth dropped open. "Hey!" She shouted after a second.  
  
Inuyasha winced but she still scowled at him. "You're damn lucky you're in the same boat as me or I'd tell you what to do!" She yelled. Oh, well. What more could she expect? At least he didn't argue with her though she *knew* he saw right through her. He knew the only reason she suggested the temple was because she wanted _him_ to be safe on the one night he felt he couldn't protect the both of them. They *needed* a sanctuary. He HATED to admit weakness, even to her, but he accepted her decision without arguing. He might even be grateful that she hadn't given him a choice in the matter so his pride was saved and *he* didn't have to suggest it. Knowing him, he probably would have kept on floating by and slept in the boat rather than appear weak and in need of shelter and the protection of priests and priestesses.  
  
What _ever_ would he do without her? How on earth did he survive this long without her to take care of him? Kagome shook her head and sighed. She knew she was good influence on him, she took pride in that (Kikyo certainly couldn't claim *that*) but he definitely never returned the favor. He was just lucky she was flexible and easy to please.  
  
All *she* wanted was to be near *him*.  
  
The sun had slipped beneath the far off hills and darkening twilight drew the boundaries of reality and the supernatural closer together. She had heard in her literature class that the time for magic was twilight, the time between day and night, light and dark. That sounded right. Kind of like Inuyasha, in between dark and light, good and evil, completely and utterly magical.  
  
Kagome sat back once again and stared contentedly at Inuyasha. With the purpling of the sky, his hair faded from luminant silver to glossy ebony, lit softly by the starlight. Kagome noticed Inuyasha growing restless as the transformation completed though his movements remained calm and easy. The tension that never left his body was still there, but his aura of attention grew and his gray eyes flicked back and forth, searching the shoreline for invisible enemies. She felt embarrassed that she noticed his unease, knowing that he felt vulnerable, like when she watched him sleep and he looked so innocent but that was nice and kind of sweet. This was indecent somehow, inappropriate. Knowing he felt bad, it was like she was reading his mind, the ultimate invasion of privacy. He tried so carefully to hide those weaker feelings and she'd seen them anyway. He'd *hate* to find out that she could see right through him.  
  
They arrived at the dock within a few minutes and Inuyasha guided the skiff to the side and looped the rope quickly to a post before hopping out to finish tying it securely. Kagome stood and gathered her bow, quiver, and her backpack as she balanced in the boat. Inuyasha waited by the edge for her and took the book bag from her surprised hands and set it down at his feet. Then he reached a hand for her.  
  
Kagome was startled but she smothered a small, self-satisfied grin and raised her hand to his. He was being polite, even courteous!  
  
He clasped her wrist and pulled her up and out of the boat with an unnatural ease. Even as a normal human he was strong. "Thanks." She murmured as he let her arm go and stooped to pick up the backpack.  
  
"Yeah." was all he said and walked away. She followed, that happy little grin back on her face. She stared up at the stars as she walked; they were so bright without the city lights and the moon to wash out their misty glow. She kept an eye on Inuyasha but her attention was on the sky. The Milky Way had never been so bright and conspicuous- like a pale path meandering through the dark. "Hurry up, Kagome." He had stopped just ahead of her and waited for her leisurely step to catch up to him.  
  
"It's just so beautiful . . ." She murmured but she didn't think he heard her. He was walking again, quickly, up the many steps to the shrine's iron gate. The dark was getting darker, the long shadows from the stone walls had blended with the night, though it was probably only seven o'clock. Any youkai would smell two human prey so they *ought* to hurry and get inside. But Kagome just wasn't worried. She trusted in her ability and Inuyasha's to protect them. Or maybe it was just the fact that they stood on holy ground and she inherently *knew* she had nothing to fear here. It was like being at home, there were no demons to scare her on her family shrine.  
  
Kagome trudged up the first dozen steps, her legs tired and cramped from sitting in the boat for hours all day. There wouldn't really be that many youkai this close to a huge temple, not with so many monks and mikos inside. 'Inuyasha's just being paranoid.' She concluded, her eyes shifting back and forth. The sense of home was suddenly tainted with a foreboding feeling of danger, like a silent bell in her mind, echoing through her body, warning her of something to come-  
  
'Paranoid. We're both paranoid, and it's HIS fault!' But then again, Kagome sighed, she could make allowances for that. That paranoia was what kept him alive all his life. She stretched her calf muscles on the steps then bounded up, the quick workout gave her extra energy and her thoughts about Inuyasha's paranoia started to creep her out. Not to mention it would hurt his feelings if she didn't acknowledge him and hurry up. He was uneasy (not scared, Inuyasha was *never* scared) and she should respect that. So, with the opinion that she was doing this so Inuyasha wouldn't feel bad about being nervous, she started hopping up the stairs faster than Inuyasha.  
  
"Now what's your problem?" He growled.  
  
Boy, nothing makes him happy!  
  
She stopped two steps above him and glared down at him. "Oh come on, I'm hungry, tired, and dirty. And you're scaring me with all your twitching and glancing around like something's gonna jump out and attack us." She yelled at him.  
  
"You stupid wench! I'm not 'twitching' or anything. I'm just being- cautious." There was a slight hesitation before he said that. He was lying. Was he hiding something from her? Was there really something out there? Hiding behind the stone railing of the stairs? In the trees beyond just waiting for them to pass by before they scurried up behind them and-  
  
Kagome squeaked when a hand fell on her shoulder. She shrieked and smacked whatever had grabbed her from behind then spun on heel, throwing herself into the former dog demon's surprised arms. "Ka- Kagome?" Inuyasha whispered.  
  
"Milady?" A shaky voice asked from behind the frightened girl. She looked up realizing the voice was from the guy she'd hit and, yes, it was a priest. She winced and pushed away from a rather flustered Inuyasha and bowed to the man.  
  
'Oh God, I'm going straight to hell for that one!' She thought. "I am _so_ sorry! I thought you were a monster- Inuyasha was telling me about ghosts and demons and then you grabbed me and I got scared- I'm so sorry." The short man bent over his cane and chuckled, nodding his understanding.  
  
"Boys will always try to scare the girls to make themselves look brave. Have no fear. There are very few demons that would dare approach this temple let alone try to attack it. You will be safe here, in this sanctuary."  
  
"We're just lookin' for a place to stay the night, old man. We'll leave early in the morning." Inuyasha stepped up, hand subtly on the hilt of Tetsusaiga. As if this little old monk was a threat!  
  
"Inuyasha, be polite." She chided him. She gave him a look that meant "oswari" then the girl turned to the priest. "We'd really appreciate it if you could put us up somewhere for the night. We won't be in the way."  
  
The priest smiled. "That is fine. You will not be an inconvenience. We get many travelers from all over the world. We house a great deal of pilgrims every night. This temple is the resting place of many sacred relics they come to worship and pay homage to." The two visitors followed the old priest up the rest of the steps, through the open, dark empty courtyard, and into the main building. It was very warm inside with stone fireplaces along three walls and the scent of dinner was heavy and sharp. The priest left them at a long table in the large hall where the room was set up like a cafeteria.  
  
"The old man wasn't kidding." The hanyou muttered as he took in the sight. There must have been almost a hundred people milling around, getting food, chatting, or eating at one of the four huge tables.  
  
"I certainly don't feel bad about asking for food and a bed then. Come on, Inuyasha- Let's eat!" Kagome grabbed the boy's hand and ran towards the line for food. They spent the rest of the evening eating and chatting a little with some of the pilgrims. Inuyasha's cold, indifferent attitude scared off most of the people but Kagome was easy to talk to and many explained what had brought them to this temple on their pilgrimages and the healing powers of the relics contained inside.  
  
One young woman sitting next to Kagome was feeding her little infant and listening in on the conversations between the foreign girl and anyone who happened to stop by. She was pale and thin, her dark hair straight and limp, but she gave them a tired smile as she gazed on the two companions. "I've been sick all summer and with four little ones to rear and my husband and younger brother to cook for and look after, I cannot keep up without running myself to an early grave." She said handing the baby girl to Kagome whom offered to hold her while her mother took care of her empty dishes. "I've left all but my youngest behind to seek out the magic of the mikos here. If it be a curse, I seek sanctuary within these holy walls."  
  
The woman slowly stood up with her tray but she swayed and Kagome quickly passed the baby to an inattentive Inuyasha and steadied the woman. "Are you okay?" Kagome asked worriedly, letting go of her elbow as the woman took a breath and stood more strongly.  
  
"'Tis the sickness, it shall pass. I pray the sacred artifacts here may heal me." The woman remained on her feet, her head bowed and eyes closed till her dizziness passed as Kagome stared up at her worriedly.  
  
'There's an aura around her. But I don't know what it is! Miroku would know, if he were here . . .' Kagome chewed on her lip before a feeling of intense concentration and a prickly burning sensation on the back of her neck made her look up and over her shoulder. Inuyasha was glaring at her. The baby was pulling on a fistful of jet-black hair in one hand, the other was reaching for more, and she was laughing as loud as she could.  
  
"Bitch! What're you doing giving me THIS?!" He yelled and held the little kid away from him like it was a bomb.  
  
"Watch your mouth around the baby, Inuyasha! And she's just a kid, she won't hurt you."  
  
"I'm not afraid of *her* hurting _me_, wench." He muttered and glared at her coldly, almost fearfully. He still held the child out to her, gently, but his hands were shaking!  
  
"Wha-" Kagome took the baby, and Inuyasha quickly dropped his hands to his side, hiding them in his red haori sleeves, and took a step back. He was human now, it wasn't like he could accidentally scratch her with his claws. What was he so afraid of?  
  
Kagome turned her puzzled eyes to him, searching- his eyes were avoiding hers- then to the baby. The girl was just a handful of months old; eight at most, with thick black hair, just loosely curled at the ends like her own with wide dark gray eyes-  
  
She was beautiful . . .  
  
Kagome smiled softly at the cooing child, her dark eyes were falling shut, it *was* getting late, and traced her finger along her cheek. "You'll be a happy little girl, won't you? I've seen you before." Kagome had a feeling of déjà vu about her as she concentrated on the little girl. Her 'sense' of the girl was familiar, like she'd seen her in a dream. She knew this little baby would grow up healthy and live happily ever after in a village in the mountains . . . How she knew this she didn't know. She got a lot of similar feelings about people and since she'd come to the feudal era her dreams had picked up the knack of coming true.  
  
If that were the case with this baby girl then she had no reason to fear for her, only her mother. Kagome turned back to the young woman, not noticing how Inuyasha was staring at her so thoughtfully holding the baby. "I'm sure everything will work out." She handed the baby back to her mother and clasped the woman's hand and wrist quickly and firmly, praying for her reassurance to be grounded in reality, not just wishful thinking. '_Please_ be true.'  
  
"Thank you, I believe I am all ready feeling better." The woman smiled, this time more brightly and she cuddled her child and walked away, leaving the pair standing there, one staring after her hopefully, the other staring at the hopeful girl suspiciously.  
  
Kagome spun on her heel to face the boy. "All right, it's time to hit the sack. Inuyasha, did you see where everyone else is heading?" She stretched and yawned, looking around only to notice for the first time that the huge cafeteria was nearly empty.  
  
He nodded, once, and silently turned away, leading the way through the hall to the back. A series of hallways opened up each leading to a barracks of rooms for the multitudes of visitors. Two monks stood at the doorway as if waiting for them and it was only as she drew nearer that Kagome realized one of them was a woman, a miko.  
  
"Um, hi. Uh, where do we go?" Kagome asked tentatively when Inuyasha paused, and she knew he was debating whether to growl at them or just slash with his nonexistent claws and walk on.  
  
"Sir, you may follow me to your room." The male monk said to dark-haired boy.  
  
"Milady, you may follow me to your room." The miko said in the same monotone.  
  
"Oh, well, we don't want to take up too much room, we can share a room, we've traveled together for months-"  
  
"My lady, that would be inappropriate! Please, allow me to show you a room." Kagome suddenly blushed- she knew what they must be thinking! She sneaked a glance at how Inuyasha was taking this but he wasn't even looking at her, he just seemed upset that they would try to separate them. He didn't care about the unspoken insinuation!  
  
"I don't think we should be separated, houshi-sama. He's my guardian you see, and he has to protect me-"  
  
*That* caught his attention, he rounded on her and screamed. "Shut up, Kagome!" He turned back to the monk and glared. "I won't leave her side."  
  
And that caught *her* attention. So. He didn't want to leave her side, eh? Kagome grinned inside.  
  
"We have rooms side by side, but we must insist that a man not enter the room of the young lady." Kagome nodded and smiled. That would have to do. She glanced at her friend but Inuyasha still seemed upset.  
  
"Of course, of course! That'll be _fine_, Inuyasha." She snagged the red sleeve of his jacket and pulled him with her as the relieved monk and miko led them down the hallways. "Be nice," she whispered, "they're letting us stay here after all. It's not like anything can happen to us in a *temple*." Inuyasha grumbled and crossed his arms angrily. She couldn't tell if he just didn't trust the priests or if he was still on edge about being human for a night. Either way, she didn't think she could ease his fears.  
  
After a minute or two of following behind the two holy people, Inuyasha cocked his head in her direction, but not quite looking at her. "Kagome, what happened when you were holdin' that kid?"  
  
Kagome wrinkled her nose at such an out-of-nowhere comment. "What're you talking about?"  
  
"You sensed something. I saw it on your face." He faced her, his arms falling to a more relaxed position.  
  
The girl flipped her hair over her shoulder and shrugged, brushing off his seriousness. "I don't know. I remembered seeing her in a dream or something. She was playing and growing up and getting married." Kagome smiled as she remembered the vision. But it was only imagining. "It was nothing."  
  
"Liar. You know your visions come true." He looked away and folded his arms again. "So she's okay. What about her mother, did you heal her?"  
  
"WHAT?" Kagome's mouth dropped open and she stared at him. "I can't heal- "  
  
"Okay, you 'purified' her, whatever." He wasn't looking at her again.  
  
"I purify shards, not people, Inuyasha." Kagome stated harshly, looking away. That sort of thing was magic, it shouldn't really exist but somehow it did here for demons and mikos like Kaeda-baa-chan and Kikyo. Not her. She was a normal girl from the twenty-first century. With some weird luck when it came to arrows and broken crystals.  
  
"You fixed whatever was wrong with her, anyway. Her aura changed after you touched her that last time." He focused on her face again and Kagome was forced to meet his eyes after a few seconds of his intense staring. "*You're* the reason these people travel so far. They want to be healed by mikos like you. Protected in the sanctuary your magical presence naturally creates." He was so serious that Kagome had to doubt what she felt. She *wasn't* a miko. _Kikyo_ was a miko. They weren't anything alike; they didn't have that or anything else in common.  
  
Kagome looked away only to find her attention caught by a glass case in which a priestess's empty robes lay, as if waiting for their mistress to return to wear them. 'Relics. The place is full of them.' She thought to herself but she was all ready creeped out by them. They, too, all of them had an aura of waiting, as if they were alive and stuck in time . . .  
  
The two temple people led them down yet another hallway and stopped at two rooms at the very end. They were side-by-side as promised with a washroom right across from them. The man paused by Inuyasha's door and the human boy sneered at him before walking in all self-important. Kagome had to giggle. Inuyasha never changed.  
  
"Good night, Inuyasha!" She called, smiling. She heard him growl in answer.  
  
"Milady?" The priestess waited by her door, the last one, and followed her inside. The room was small, but that was expected. They had to house a *lot* of visitors. There was bed at the center of the back wall, a tiny table beside it, under the shuttered window, and a mat lay across the floor. The miko stood in the center of the room and bowed to each of the four corners of the room then said a soft prayer.  
  
Kagome stared at her.  
  
She heard mumbling and thudding in the next room and knew the same invocations were being said there. Kagome made a valiant effort to appear solemn and respectful despite her companion but she must have looked ridiculous. The miko hesitated in her incantation and glanced at the wall where Inuyasha could still be heard. Her calm mask broke and she started to laugh, giving up her prayer entirely. Kagome burst out laughing too, it was contagious especially with the bumping and crashing going on in the next room!  
  
Kagome fell on the bed, clutching her stomach she was laughing so hard it hurt! When was the last time she'd laughed so much?  
  
The young miko giggled and sat down with her. "Forgive me, milady. I haven't been a practicing priestess long. I find it difficult to maintain such a serious bearing." Kagome waved off her apology.  
  
"That's alright. I hate being serious too." Now that Kagome could study her, the miko was only a few years older than her. Maybe Kikyo's age. Her dark brown hair was done up in the white-ribboned ponytail but curly wisps escaped to soften its harshness and her red and white robes were noticeably stained and wrinkled. She probably worked hard here. The miko took a small knife and something round and pale out of her white vest and sliced it in half, and took a dainty bite. She held out the other half and offered it to Kagome.  
  
Kagome grinned and took it, only now recognizing the fruit as some kind of white apple, at least it looked like an apple- except for being the pure white color of an onion. "What is it like to be a traveling miko? Have you been a miko long?" The young woman asked. Kagome gulped and blushed, looking away.  
  
"Oh, no. I'm not a miko." She said. The priestess frowned, obviously confused.  
  
"But you have power." She insisted and Kagome half-nodded in agreement.  
  
"Some say I do but I haven't used it or seen it really. I'm just lucky with a bow really." Kagome took a modest bite of the fruit and chewed. It was kind of sweet and tart, crunchy like a young apple but juicier than any other she'd ever tasted before. It must be some extinct variety or something, she'd never seen its kind in her time.  
  
The reverberating feeling of approaching danger returned, trembling her heart and she paused her eating to study the feeling. The juices of the fruit exploded with an almost sour tartness in her mouth and she was abruptly overcome with dizziness. Immediately Kagome felt sleepy, her head suddenly heavy, her eyes fluttering heavily and she fell right over. She never even had a chance to swallow- she still had to bathe and change . . . but she had no energy. "Why . . ? We only- wanted sanctuary- this . . . is, a holy place . . !" Then her breath escaped her and Kagome's eyes closed  
  
The priestess smiled coolly down on the unconscious girl, rose, and covered her up with the red blankets. She blew out the oil lamp on the table throwing the room into complete darkness save for the fragile glow of starshine. She hovered over her a moment, studying her paling face and the stillness of her chest.  
  
"Amazing how you still look so alive. Like you could take a breath now and sit up. It must be the blush in you cheeks." She walked away but halted by the door and stared back at the body lying on the bed. "Only the most powerful mikos can look so alive in death." Then she left.  
  
*@~}*~~~~ * ** * * * * *  
  
A few hours later Inuyasha paused outside the room, listening but he didn't hear anything so he tapped on the door. There was no response and he frowned then let himself in. He had a bad feeling. Just in general, nothing in particular but it made him want to check in on Kagome.  
  
She slept. 'Bitch. Making me worry for no reason.' He thought and scowled. He shut the door behind him and dozed the rest of the night on the mat at the foot her bed.  
  
The feeling wouldn't go away . . .  
  
*@~}*~~~~ * * * * * * *  
  
The girl didn't stir when the sun rose the next morning. A white-haired Inuyasha stood frowning at her then left to wash up and steal some breakfast for them. He didn't think the temple people would take kindly to finding out a youkai had stayed the night. He had _planned_ on leaving *before* dawn but if Kagome needed to sleep in . . .  
  
When he returned, the girl still hadn't moved. Not even an inch. Come to think of it, she hadn't moved all night and never made a sound. Kagome always tossed and turned while she slept, always mumbled something about those stupid 'tests'. But not tonight-  
  
"Hey. Kagome." He called. No response. Inuyasha rose from where he squatted on the floor, frowning at the girl. "Hey! Kagome- baka, time to get up!" Still silent. Had he been looking more closely, he would have noticed the slight crease between her brows as she tried to wake up and tell him to get away from this horrible place.  
  
"Kagome . . ?" He walked up to the side of the bed and touched her shoulder. "Wha-" She was still in her day clothes. She never changed into her soft funny bedclothes. Inuyasha removed the blanket cast over her. She still had a comb in her hand from when she was brushing her hair before she bathed- come to think of it, she never did. That was her whole excuse for coming here! The least she could do was follow through with the lie to make it more believable! "Kagome . . ." During all this she still never stirred. Had she been sleeping like a normal person she'd have woken by now and bashed his brains in or made him "sit!"  
  
Something was wrong and somehow it was going to be his fault- he knew it. Sango and Miroku and Shippo were going to blame him and she would never trust him to keep her safe again.  
  
As he sneered and turned away, a worried scowl on his face, a tangy scent caught his nose and he paused mid-stride to sniff the air. The scent came from Kagome, her hand and her mouth. Something definitely didn't smell right-  
  
The door behind him quietly swung open and a servant girl in a pale green kimono walked in with bed sheets and linens. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the dog-eared youkai standing over the helpless girl lying in the bed. She dropped her sheets and touched a trembling hand to her mouth and started to scream.  
  
Inuyasha was by her side in a one bound, his clawed hand gently but *firmly* smothering her shrieks before she drew attention. "Shut up, woman. I'm not hurting anyone, I arrived with this girl last night. I'm the same guy she came in with. Will you be quiet and answer my questions?"  
  
She nodded, hesitantly. "He had dark hair." She whispered when he slowly removed his hand.  
  
"It was dark. You're mistaken. Now what's happened to her? She was fine when I left her here last night and now she won't wake." The youkai stepped back from the frightened girl and approached the sleeping figure with a soft and careful step, his concerned eyes on her and back exposed to the servant.  
  
"I don't know. Wh- what, happened?" She asked slowly. She could have escaped while the youkai was distracted but the way he stared at the girl- Instead, the servant walked closer to the demon to look on the girl. She was pale and wasn't breathing, there didn't seem to be any life in the strangely clad girl. She was suddenly afraid again, this demon might have killed the girl, in a temple no less! But, his face- "I'm sorry. It appears she has passed on."  
  
"No! I can smell the life still in her. Her heart beats and she's still breathing. She's alive I just can't wake her up." The maid shook her head.  
  
"It looks like the same curse that affects some of our holy men and mikos every few months. But she can't be a miko, she's only a slip of girl, a child." She studied the wan face of the girl, a few years younger than herself, too young to die certainly. She must have been stubborn but kind from the set of her mouth and strong chin. Her long lashes suggested a dreamer, a wishful, hopeful girl. It was a true loss for she was probably meant to do great good had she lived.  
  
"WHAT CURSE! They never said anything about a curse!" Inuyasha shouted, stomping his foot into the floor which splintered audibly under the impact. The girl cringed but didn't retreat. He wasn't attacking her after all.  
  
"It only affects people with magical ability, not normal pilgrims, none of our visitors have ever been struck down by it before! If this girl was a miko then she should have never stayed here, the priests would have warned you."  
  
"They made no mention." The boy growled, clenching his fists at his sides. "She *is* a miko." Inuyasha crossed his arms, staring at Kagome's motionless body. 'We'd have never stayed here if we knew it'd be dangerous. Even if it _was_ the night of the first day I'd have kept going. I'd have NEVER put her life in danger!'  
  
"I, I'm sorry. Had we known she'd put such a powerful loyalty spell on a youkai we'd have sent her on. She just seems too young to be so powerful a miko." Inuyasha didn't even react to the mention of Kagome putting a spell on him. It was true and unimportant.  
  
"How do I get rid of this curse?" He growled quietly.  
  
"You can't."  
  
"What?!" He whirled on her but the girl stood her ground, she didn't fear this tamed demon.  
  
"She's as good as dead now, she'll never wake up. We have never been able to wake our mikos and holy men. We keep them here, safe, as if asleep, to be prayed to and bless our pilgrims. Their bodies never fade or decay, always looking alive. They are honored here as precious relics." The maid looked on the fallen girl again. "She's quite pretty, and innocent. She still looks very much alive. She must have been very powerful too, she'll have a great many visitors."  
  
"I'm not leaving her here!" Inuyasha cried. "I'm going to kill whatever caused this curse and I'll wake her somehow." He turned away from her again. "Find someone who can tell me what caused this." He ordered her without looking over his shoulder. He heard her quiet steps and the door close as she left to do his bidding.  
  
His face was set and the part of Kagome that was conscious in the back of her mind- or outside her body, she wasn't sure- was amazed at how calm he appeared. He made such a ruckus when he first heard but now he seemed to accept what the servant girl had told him. 'No . . . No, Inuyasha! I'm still here!' He ought to be tearing things apart, searching for some demon or black miko to kill to remove the curse! Instead he sat heavily on the side of the bed, watching her. 'Why is he just looking at me so solemnly and resignedly? What's wrong? Is this his chance to finally escape me? Without guilt he can be rid of me? Take the shards we collected and run? Find a new tama-detector? Leave me and return to _Kikyo_?!' Inside Kagome cried, she screamed and sobbed, unable to make herself heard. 'Why is he just *sitting there, STARING*?!'  
  
A tiny tear escaped her calmly closed eyes, inexplicable to any whom saw it but to Inuyasha it meant everything.  
  
The silver-haired hanyou bent low over the girl, surprising her conscious spirit. His head was hardly inches from her face, she would have gasped had she some small bit of control over her body. Again, he softly sniffed the air around her head and gazed at her with those sad, serious eyes. The same eyes he saw Kikyo with.  
  
"You're not dead." He whispered. "You can never die." Then his lips pressed down on hers, a small kiss little more than a peck. Kagome was incredibly surprised, more so when he quickly pulled away- embarrassed or afraid of enjoying it she didn't know- and licked his lips, touching a clawed finger delicately to his lips. "Keh. Just as I thought. Poison." He said emotionlessly.  
  
Kagome's spirit fell and she nearly sighed. 'Oh. That's why he kissed me. At least it wasn't farewell.' She thought. 'He must have smelled that apple thing on me. Oh, God, I've become Snow White! He must of caught the scent of poison and tasted it on my lips. *Damn*.' Then her attention was dragged back to the scene as his warm hand touched her face, so gently, and he ran his thumb lightly over her lips. She felt a tingling rush spread from her lips all over her face and flood the rest of her body. His soft lips fell on hers once more, his warm tongue slipped through her yielding lips and she was in heaven. Not literally, she obviously wasn't dead yet but she was willing to die happy now. He had the softest, warmest lips- Dammit! That was her first kiss and she wasn't even conscious to properly enjoy it or even slap him for taking advantage of her!  
  
How unfair. But how *nice* . . .  
  
Mere moments later the kiss was over and Inuyasha was pulling away to spit out the little black seed that had poisoned her. She hadn't even noticed the seed last night when she took a bite. He dropped the seed to the ground and smashed with an intense loathing. The look on his face as he did so made her astral form cringe. But the gentle, intensely concerned look on his face as he glanced back at her, hoping she might wake now that the toxin was gone was just as breathtaking.  
  
"Kagome . . ." He whispered. Kagome could hear him, far away. Her body was beginning to awaken. She could hear him and see him, his eyes still so sad but Kagome couldn't get her body to move.  
  
To him, she didn't stir. "I won't let them get you." He assured her as he leaned over and picked the girl up. He grabbed her backpack from the floor and hopped out the window, running away before the maid could return with the people who had done this to her. "A curse on this place. A real curse. Crumble these walls and destroy those that would imprison mikos in their own minds."  
  
He would never let them keep her. He knew their secret now and he had saved Kagome from their sick plans. She was more than any common miko to heal the sick and answer some stupid prayers. She didn't even like doing miko stuff like that. She thought it made her like Kikyo and Inuyasha knew that was the last thing she wanted to be. It was a constant competition, everyone who knew the revived priestess compared her reincarnation to the real thing. Somehow, Kagome always got the feeling she was lacking.  
  
What she didn't know was that there was never any competition. Kagome was different, better, accepting- anything he did, all that he was she forgave and accepted. She never tried to change him like Kikyo had.  
  
She was a greater miko than Kikyo. She was a better _friend_ than Kikyo.  
  
She was more than Kikyo _ever_ was.  
  
*This* girl was someone's beloved and that was all she wanted to be. And more than he ever dreamed he would let her become. 


End file.
